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Friday, 30 October 2015

Fedor is the son of Sergei Bondarchuk, who directed WATERLOO, and is an actor, producer, and director. The cast of STALINGRAD includes:

Pyotr Fyodorov (as Gromov)

Dmitriy Lysenkov (as Chavanov)

Alexey Barabash (as Nikiforov)

Andrey Smolyakov (as Polyakov)

Sergey Bondarchuk Jr. (as Sergey Astakhov)

Oleg Volku (as Krasnov)

Philippe Reinhardt (as Gottfried)

Georges Devdariani (as Klose)

Yanina Studilina (as Masha)

Maria Smolnikova (as Katya)

Thomas Kretschmann (as Hauptmann Peter Kahn)

Heiner Lauterbach (as Oberstleutnant Henze)

Polina Raikina (as Natashka)

Yuri Nazarov (as Navodchik)

The film can best be described as being an all-action, melodramatic, love story and war film. It lasts just over two hours and contains some of the most violent and graphic battle scenes I have ever seen. The story is told as a flash-back by an elderly Russian rescue worker who is helping to recover survivors trapped after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

The plot of the film deals with the fight for a large building that is blocking a German advance. The building is held by five Russians soldiers and a young Russian woman (Katya) who they found inside when they took possession of the building. The German attackers are led by a German officer (Hauptmann Kahn) who has developed an obsession with a young Russian woman (Masha) who resembles his dead wife. The German officer's superior (Oberstleutnant Henze) proves to be a callous individual who will stop at nothing to be successful.

The film opens with scenes showing Russian troops being ferried across the River Volga towards the city of Stalingrad.

Newly-arrived Russian troops try to capture the oil tanks that hold the German Army's fuel reserves, but before they can do so Hauptmann Kahn blows the oil tanks up, dousing the attackers in flames.

The fighting is then concentrated around the centre of the city, and in particular the square containing the famous statue of the six children dancing in a circle.

Before the first major German assault on the Russian-held building is made, Oberstleutnant Henze makes what he regards as a pre-battle 'blood sacrifice' when he orders that a woman and child that he has ‘indentified’ as being Jewish are boarded up in a tramcar … which is then set alight by a flamethrower.

This act causes the Russian defenders to mount a pre-emptive attack on the Germans, forcing them to fall back.

This only delays the Germans, and several unsuccessful attacks are made before a number of panzers arrive on their way to attack the Russian bridgehead on the western bank of the Volga. By this time Oberstleutnant Henze has been killed (as has Masha), and Hauptmann Kahn leads a final assault on the Russian position, supported by the panzers.

The attack succeeds, but just as the Germans seize control of the building, the Russians call down an air strike on their position, killing the Germans and wiping themselves out in the process. Only Katya survives because Sergey Astakhov – who is the father of her unborn child – makes sure that she is moved to a safe nearby location before the final battle begins.

Glad you have enjoyed this Movie BOB. I'm actually scared of Modern Movies - cannot bare to watch them- are they too real? Far too fast? Smart dialogue?...I do not know- however, I can easily watch older Movies and enjoy them greatly...less violence, less graphic scenes - slower pace? No CGG at all... I can easily sit down and watch 'Mary Poppins' on DVD and enjoy it thoroughly ....Musicals! Love them! KEV.

Some of the new films coming from Eastern Europe and Russia are excellent, and tend to use lots of proper effects rather than computer generated images. For example, the Polish film about the post World War I Battle of Warsaw featured thousands of real horsemen and replica FT-17 tanks.

As I write this, the film BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE is being shown on TV. It is one of my favourites ... and not a single computer special effect in sight!

Musicals have never been top of my list of films to watch, although there are some notable exceptions (e.g. MARY POPPINS, LES MISERABLES).

Oddly I prefer the old sort of war film where the scale and significance of the battle was enough to carry the film without relying on adding some spurious human interest, love or otherwise to keep people's interest.

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The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.